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My Top 10 Tips On How To Find Your Personal Style

Finding your personal style and shopping for it can be a truly scary thing for some folk. It can feel overwhelming at times and can make you feel like you're going through some sort of identity crisis. Fashion and dressing yourself should be fun and creative; I've decided to break down my top tips on how to discover YOUR personal style, how I found mine and ways to shop for it. Enjoy!

Tip 1: Finding Your Personal Style Can Apply To All

You can discover your personal style and experiment at all ages - don't even feel it's ever "too late" to start trying out new trends or really delving into what clothing and styles you love.

Tip 2: Come Up With Style 'Buzzwords'

Coming up with key buzzwords that describe your style can be very useful when concentrating on what trends, pieces, colours etc you're drawn to most. It'll also help you shop better, as you know what trends slot into your personal buzzwords and which ones don't.

Tip 3: Think About Who's Style You Admire

It's always handy to think about who's style you admire personally; whether it be a celebrity or a family member. Think about why you like their style - what buzzwords come to mind when you think of how they dress? Could elements of their style work for you also?

Tip 4: Ask Your Friends To Help You Sum Up Your Style

It can extremely daunting trying to sum up your style yourself so asking friends or family members for advice can be a huge help! Ask them how they'd describe your style, what they love seeing on you and what pieces they think particularly suit you.

Tip 5: Spend A Day Doing A Giant Wardrobe Clear-Out

Wardrobe clear-outs are a godsend, as I've previously mentioned before. They declutter your room, your headspace and they're also the easiest way to breakdown your personal style.

Tip 6: Organise Everything Into Designated Piles

Organising all of your clothes during a clear-out into designated piles helps you to easily see what clothing you love and loathe. Organising your clothes into a Yes pile, an "Iffy" pile and a No pile instantly makes it easier for you to breakdown your taste and what pieces make you feel like 'you'.

Tip 7: Make An Online Or Physical Style Scrapbook

Visualising your style inspirations is a helpful tool to inspire and encourage your personal style. Whether you like to physically scrapbook and tear out magazine pages or use the likes of Tumblr or Pinterest to mood board, it's up to you. Print out some of your favourite images and stick them inside of your wardrobe for a daily dose of inspiration.

Tip 8: Don't Directly Copy - Derive Inspiration Here And There

It's never wise to directly copy off of someone's style, as it's simply boring, unauthentic and you're more or less just playing dress-up. Derive inspiration from different aspects of someone's style and incorporate them into your own personal look.

Tip 9: Incorporate Your General Interests Into Your Style

It's always super-fun to find inspiration for your personal style in all aspects of your life - not just fashion! Look to your general interests and your lifestyle and you'll be amazed at what can inspire an outfit or your overall personal style. Anything from 80's movies to the Spice Girls could completely catapult you into a new style realm of discovery.

Tip 10: Don't Be Afraid To Experiment - And Make Mistakes!

Don't ever, ever, ever be afraid to experiment and make mistakes. Life's way too short. If you make a mistake, learn from it. If you wear something that makes you feel self-conscious or unlike 'you', at least you'll know for next time. Nobody is going to arrest you over a badly-chosen outfit.

MY PERSONAL STYLE KEY PIECES:

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I’m Leanne Woodfull, a recent NCAD graduate, all round creative and Irish blogger here at Thunder & Threads. I began my blogging journey in 2009, after I read a magazine hailing it the “next big thing”. Fast forward nine years and it’s my career! Topics of interest include fashion, cruelty free beauty, travel and feminism but I delve into an array of different subjects from time to time. Do stick around and drop me a line on social media below. Enjoy!